Anticorrosion plug



Patented Sept. 3, 1946 AN TICORROSION PLUG MiltonlE. Chandler, NewBritain, Conn., assigner tov Chandler-Evans Corporation, a corporationof Delaware Application February 18, 1942, Serial N0. 431,401

(CL 20S-46) 8 Claims.

My invention relates to anti-corrosion plugs.

In making such plugs, usually of transparent plastic, which areconnectible to the chamber requiring protection from corrosion, as, forexample, the cylinder of an airplane engine, difliculty has beenexperienced in sealing the plugs in such manner that the dehydratingmaterial therein will not absorb too much moisture before use. Variousseals have been used, but the moisture content has continued to exceedthe required very Vsmall minimum permissible absorption of 2% of theweight of the dehydrating material in an atmosphere that has a 100temperature and a humidity of 100%. Further, since such plugs have alling aperture in one end and an air inlet in the other, the packagingci the same for shipment has also presented other problems ofconsiderable difficulty. One arises from the fact that if the air inletremains open for lany appreciable time, too much absorption of moistureis permitted, and from the further fact that the closure for the lllngaperture being adhesively connected to the plug, as, for example, by theuse of acetone, a form of closure is thus presented which requires adrying period before the adhesive can form the desired tight bond.Moreover, a packaging is required which is inexpensive and which alsocan be readily and quickly applied and removed, While also beingcompletely removed so that no extraneous matter can'flnd its way intothe chamber. As a result of the above problems, the preparation of suchplugs for shipment has entailed considerable difficulty, delay andexpense, while despite this, the plugs have failed to meet the rigidspecications as regards moisture absorption mentioned.

My invention has among its objects to provide an improved packagingmeans for such plugs whereby it is made possible to reduce moistureabsorption to the `desired minimum, while expediting the packagingoperation, and also enabling the plugs to be immediately sealed,packaged and shipped, following filling. A further object of myinvention is to provide such a plug having improved and inexpensivepackaging means which are readily and quickly applied and whereby theclosure may be held in place and the inlet sealed in a single quick andsimple operation. Other objects include the provision of such animproved plug which is adequately protected by the packaging means, andone wherein, at the same time, portions of the transparent plasticcomprising the same are so exposed that the condition of the dehydratingmaterial may be readily determined at a glance. A still further objectof` my invention is to provide such an improved packaging means whichretains its eectiveness over long periods and is readily, quickly andcompletely removable whenever it is desired to use the plug. Anotherobject is to provide an improved sealing structure for a plug of thetype described, so constructed that the plug cannot be used Withoutfirst removing the sealing structure. These and other vobjects andadvantages of my improvements will, however, hereinafter more fullyappear.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown for purposes of illustrationone embodiment which my invention may assume in practice.

In this drawing,

Figure l is a side elevation of a plug equipped with my improvement;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the same;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the closure end of the plug, and

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the air inlet end of the plug.

In this illustrative construction, I have shown a transparent plasticplug generally indicated at l, and of well known construction andincluding a chamber 2 containing a suitable dehydrating material, as,for example, silica gel; this plug having a usual filling aperture 3 atone end and a closure 4 adhesively connected thereto as at da, and alsohaving an air inlet 5 in the form of a usual flat perforated disc-likeopposite end, while a portion 6 of the plug adjacent the inlet 5 is, asusual, suitably shaped to receive a wrench and also suitably threaded,to enable the plug to be connected to the wall of the chamber to beprotected.

In my improved plug, the closure Il is held in place and the air inlet 5is sealed by a suitable resilient band 1. As shown, this band isdisposed longitudinally o the plug and is of such width that a portion 8thereof at one end of the plug completely overlies and extends laterallyat opposite sides beyond the periphery of the air inlet 5, while snuglyconforming to the perforated surface of the air inlet in such manner asto provide an eiective seal therefor. The other end S of the band 1similarly extends longitudinally around the extremity of the closure 4in such manner as to hold the same in place While the adhesive lahardens. Between these end portions 8 and 9 of the band '1, the latteralso is of such width as to provide on each side of the plug an apertureI0 extending substantially throughout the full length of the plug insuch manner as thereby to permit the dehydrating tained tensioned by theplug when in positiony thereon; a wide rubber band of good qualityrubber being found to be entirely satisfactory. Suchy an endless rubberband is not only simple and inexpensive and quickly applied and removed,and also adapted to provide an effective seal for the air inlet 5, butfurther expedites and facilitates assembly on the plug since any portionofv the band is adapted to form the seal and be disposed over the airinlet, as distinguished from requiring the location of a particularportionl of k the band over the latter.` Further, the resiliency of sucha band enables the desired tension to be maintained thereby on the plug,While sealing the air inlet and holding the closure securely inposition.

As a result of my improvements, it is made possible for the plug to beimmediately packaged and shipped following lling and the insertion ofthe closure d. More particularly, as soon as the closure is in place andwithout waiting for the adhesive ia to dry, either end of the plug canbe inserted in any portion of the band 1, and the band extended andsnapped over the other end oi the plug in the relation indicated inFig. 1. Nhen the band is in this position, it will be evident that theplug is ready for immediate shipment; the inlet 5 continuing to beeffectively sealed, while the tension under which the band is placedwill tend to maintain this seal While also holding the closure dsecurely in position while it dries.

Plugs packaged in my improved manner readily meet the requirements asregards minimum absorption of moisture. Further, they are maintained inthis condition for long periods. dition, the diilculties heretoforeexperienced in packaging are eliminated in such manner as not onlymaterially to expedite shipment, but also substantially to reduce theexpense of packaging. Attention is also directed to the fact that theband l not only acts to protect the plug during shipment, but enablesthe plugs to be securely and compactly packed in larger containerswithout the use of additional material. Moreover, the apertures l enablethe condition of the dehydrating material to be determined at a glance,while when it is desired to use the plug, the band may obviously bequickly and. completely removed. Y

Furthermore, since the sealing band l extends laterally beyond thethreads by which the plug' is held in an aperture in the wall of thespace to be protected against moisture7 it may be seen thatrthe sealingband 'l rnust positively be removed before the device can be used. Whereprevious types of sealing devices have been used, trouble has beenexperienced because of the insertion of the device in the aperture to beprotected by an unskilled person who failed to remove the seal. Ofcourse, the device is completely inoperative unless the seal is removed.With devices of the type described herein,l this trouble has never beenencountered, because the sealing member itself obstructs the insertionofl the device into the aperture when the sealing member is in itseiective position. The device In ad- 4 cannot be inserted into theaperture before the sealing member is removed.

While I have in this application specifically described one form of myinvention, it will be understood that this form of the same is shown forpurposes of illustration, and that the invention may be modied andembodied in other forms without departing from its spirit or the scopeof the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The step in preparing for immediate shipment an anti-corrosion plugcontaining dehydrating material and including an air inlet and amaterial retaining member, and also having an adhesive connection tosaid plug requiring a drying period for the adhesive connection to set,

which consists in, resiliently wrapping the plug longitudinally forshipment while in the same operation sealing said inlet and holding saidmember in place during drying. l

2. The step in preparing for immediate shipment an anti-.corrosion plugcontaining dehyclrating material and having an air inletV and a fillingaperture at opposite ends thereof, a separable closure for said fillingaperture, and an adhesive between said closure and plug requiring adrying period, whichconsists in, resiliently wrapping the pluglongitudinally for shipment with the closure thereon before the adhesivedries and while simultaneously sealing said inlet and holding saidclosure in place during drying.

3. The step in preparing for immediate shipment an anti-corrosion plugcontaining dehydrating material and having an air inlet and a llingaperture at opposite ends thereof, a separable closure for saidv iillingaperture, andan adhesive between said closure and plugY requiring adrying period, which consists in, extending lengthwise an' endlessresilient band Wider than said inlet and normally shorter than thecombined length of said plug and closure, while an inner portion of theband engages one end of said plug and until the other endl of said bandoverlies the other end of the plug, and releasing said band to grip theplug and hold said closure in place during hardening of the adhesivewhile sealing said inlet.

4. The method of preparing for immediate shipment an anti-corrosion plughaving an air inlet in one end and a nlling aperture in the other endadapted to be closed by a closure adapted to be adhesively connected tothe plug by an adhesive requiring a drying period, which consists in,lling said plug with dehydrating material, applying a closure over saidaperture While a bonding material between said closure and plug is wet,and placing a resilient band, Wide enough to cover saidair inlet,lengthwise around-said plug and closure to seal said inlet and hold saidclosure in place during drying of said bonding material.

5,. A dehydrator plug adaptedto be threadedly mounted in an internallythreaded passage in the wall of a chamber to be dehydrated, comprising agenerally elongated cylindrical casing having at one end a portionapertured to permit the entrance of air and an intermediate external- 1ythreaded portion, dehydrating material in said casing, and a member`covering said apertured portion and sealing said end, said memberhaving an integral portion thereof extending laterally beyond thelargest diameter of lsaid threaded portion and longitudinally aroundsaid casing to prevent insertion of said end in said passage withoutremoval of said member.

6. A dehydrator plug comprising a casing externally contoured to conformWith the inner surface of a chamber in which said plug is to be used,dehydrating material in said casing, a screen in a Wall of said easingto permit the entrance of air, and a structure for sealing said screenduring shipment and storage to prevent the entrance of air into saidcasing, said structure comprising a seal portion covering said screen,and a projecting portion at least as wide as said seal portion and ofsubstantial thickness, said projecting portion extending beyond theedges of said screen suiciently to provide a mas- HYsive obstructionpreventing conformity of said casing to the inner surface of saidVchamber Vas long as said projecting portion is in place, said projectingportion being integrally connected to said sealing portion around amajor part of its periphery so as to permit ready removal of saidprojecting portion only by removal of the entire sealing structure.

7. A dehydrator plug adapted to be threadedly mounted in an internallythreaded passage in the wall of a chamber to be dehydrated, comprising agenerally elongated cylindrical casing having at one end a portionapertured to permit the entrance of air and an intermediate externallythreaded portion, dehydrating material in said casing, and a membercovering said apertured portion and sealing said end, said member havingan integral portion thereof extending longitudinally around said casingso that it overlies the largest diameter of said threaded portion andprevents insertion of said end in said passage without removal of saidmember.

8. A dehydrator plug, comprising a generally elongated cylindricalcasing having at one end a portion apertured to permit the entrance ofair and at an intermediate point adjacent said end a jointstructureren-the exterior ofesaid casing, de; hydrating material in saidcasing, and a member covering said apertured portion and sealing saidend, said member having an integral portion thereof extendinglongitudinally around said casing so that it overlies said jointstructure and prevents the use thereof Without removal of said Y member.25

MILTON E. CHANDLER.

